HOUSTON – After a two-week walkout, enough Texas House Democrats have returned to the Capitol to restore a quorum, allowing the second special session to begin. The return follows intense protest over Republicans’ mid-decade congressional redistricting effort.
At the center of the standoff is a proposed congressional map that would flip up to five seats to Republican control. Lawmakers are reconvening under a cloud of tension, with DPS officers now assigned to monitor Democratic legislators to ensure they remain in the state.
The Texas House officially gaveled in Monday afternoon for the second special session, marking the first time the chamber has met with quorum since the walkout began. Several Democratic members, who had traveled to Illinois, California, and New York to avoid voting on the redistricting bills, signed written agreements allowing their release under DPS supervision. The measure ensures their continued presence on the House floor.
“We are done waiting,” said Speaker Dustin Burrow (R-Lubbock). “We have a quorum. Now is the time for action.”
He acknowledged the “tumultuous two weeks,” but said the institution would move forward despite the unrest.
Yet the drama isn’t over.
Houston State Representative Jolanda Jones remains outside of Texas, defiant in her refusal to participate in what she called an “execution” of her constituents’ rights.
“I was never coming back,” Jones said. “My constituents have told me to quorum break and don’t come back...I was not going to walk to the execution of my Black and Brown and poor constituents’ rights.”
State Representatives Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) and Christina Morales (D-Houston) in news releases said they wouldn’t return.
“I represent communities that these racist maps are targeting – historic Latino neighborhoods like Lindale Park, Magnolia Park, Near Northside, Park Place, and the East End,” Morales said in a press release. “I will not be complicit in this rigged redistricting scheme.”
“While I respect my Democratic colleagues who returned on the advice of our lawyers in order to establish a record for legal remedies, in good conscience I could not return and legitimize a process rooted in racial oppression,” Reynolds said. “I believe history will honor those who stood firm.”
Jones also expressed concern for the safety and freedom of her colleagues who did return.
“They are not free,” she said. “They can’t go anywhere. They are being patrolled by law enforcement.”
It remains unclear when, or if, Jones will return to Texas.
Jones is running for the 18th Congressional District seat against a crowded field.
“I did not bring that up,” Jones told KPRC 2. “I am the state representative for House District 147 and I am fighting for my constituents. I will come back to anywhere that is not safe.”
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu (D-Houston) said the quorum break brought national attention to the redistricting issue, and now Democrats are pivoting to the courts. Wu announced the formation of a formal legal team to prepare a challenge against the new congressional maps.
That team includes Wu, Mexican American Legislative Caucus Chair Ramón Romero, Texas Legislative Black Caucus Chair Barbara Gervin Hawkins, and Dean of the House Senfronia Thompson. According to Wu, the group is working to “create a record for the courts” before critical filing deadlines close off options for legal relief.
“Now that this option is more open to us, we’re trying to get this through as quickly as possible so that the [Supreme] Court can stop it,” Wu said. “This is probably, from the experts that we’ve talked to, the worst racial discrimination in redistricting since the Jim Crow era.”
Wu emphasized the strategic value of the walkout:
“Would you be talking about redistricting, about gerrymandering, about racial discrimination, about trying to cheat the public if we did not do this?”
Political analyst Mark Jones of Rice University said the Democrats’ walkout successfully delayed proceedings and garnered national attention, but it’s unlikely to stop the legislation altogether.
“By breaking quorum... [Democrats] were able to delay the passage of the legislation and shine a national spotlight on it, but in the end, they will not be able to block it,” Jones said.
He added that the second special session means a total reset.
“All of those [first session bills] effectively get thrown in the trash,” he said. “You start completely fresh.”
Jones also suggested Texas is setting a precedent that could ripple nationwide:
“California could follow. Then we could see Florida counter California, Washington State counter Florida, Missouri counter Washington State, and so on.”
Some Republicans are unhappy with the lack of consequences for Democrats who broke quorum. Representative Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie) criticized House leadership for not punishing members who left the state.
“There was not one arrest. No Democrat has had their seat vacated, no one removed from committees, and not one fine that they will actually pay has been imposed,” Harrison said.“Texans wanted action. They wanted punishment. We got absolutely nothing.”
With the House back in session, redistricting hearings are underway and lawmakers are reintroducing bills. Although Democrats are preparing for legal battles, the Republican majority is expected to pass the redrawn congressional map in the coming weeks.
Still, with court challenges looming and at least one Democrat vowing never to return, the political and legal ramifications of this redistricting fight could stretch far beyond Texas.